Intramolecular Dehydrogenative Photocyclization of N-Phenyl-1-naphthamides

Here, we explore a dehydrogenative 6π photocyclization method for N-substituted naphthalene carboxamides, which can be conducted in air. This method employs DMSO as both the reaction solvent and oxidant while also stabilizing the excited state of the substrate. Furthermore, the addition of photosensitizer enables the reaction to proceed under a 440-445 nm LED source via energy transfer. The proposed mechanism is initially validated through DFT calculations.